Game hunters, photographers, and naturalists alike have long known the best way to view antler-bearing game animals is to be stationary and to attract the game animal to a desired area. This is because antlered animals, such as deer and elk, have keen senses of sight, smell and hearing, which when combined with the animal's speed and dexterity makes tracking such animals more difficult.
Numerous approaches have been developed to effectively attract an animal to a desired area, including, but not limited to, game calls, scents, and decoys. Game calls are generally devices that are used to simulate sounds associated with the animal.
One type of widely used game call is a reed-bearing device through which a user exhausts pulmonary air to produce sounds similar to that of an animal cry. Typical of these devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,925 issued to Ady; U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,903 issued to Parrott et al.; and U.S. Des. Pat. No. 393,223 issued to Hall.
Another type of widely used call is a percussion device that produces sounds similar to the rattling antlers of sparring animals. These devices generally include two or more members that are struck together to produce the desired percussions. Typical of these devices include U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,494 issued to Ball; U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,074 issued to Suminski; U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,320 issued to Becker; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 376,555 issued to Gebhardt; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,056 issued to Molotschko.
A recognized problem in the art is that these percussion device solutions require two hands to operate the associated devices. That is, to produce the desired percussions the user must occupy one hand with one portion of the noise making device and strike it against another portion of the noise making device that is supported in the user's other hand. This means the user cannot manipulate other equipment, such as a camera or a firearm, while using the game call.
Solutions have been attempted that permit a hands-free operation of a percussion-type game call. One such solution is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,664 issued to Shockley, which teaches a pair of antlers suspended by a motor actuated linkage which, when actuated, brings the antlers into engagement with one another. The motor can be actuated by the user who remotely controls a radio controlled servo, or the motor can be controlled by automatic timing schemes.
Drawbacks to this solution are apparent. The complexity of the electromechanical device makes it relatively expensive and maintenance intensive. The device is also relatively cumbersome to set up and to relocate.
Another recognized problem in the art is that these and other devices are incapable of producing authentic sounds of a sparring match which in reality varies in intensity from very light ticks, in early phases of a sparring match, to violent clashing associated with an all-out battle.
The art has advanced to a state which provides numerous alternatives of percussion-type devices that effectively attract game animals. There is a need, however, for a simple and inexpensive device that permits a hands-free operation enabling the user to use the game call simultaneously with other equipment such as a camera or a firearm, and which would furthermore permit the user to create the full range of various sounds similar to that of a sparring match between antlered animals.